Column: Long time editor leaving The Free Press

By Jon Dawson / Columnist

Published: Monday, September 30, 2013 at 09:29 PM.

Janet continued, “The next day, she went up to the reporter who kept forgetting to post his photo assignments in a timely manner and caught him with a left hook and two good rabbit punches. From that day forward, all photo assignments were posted at least 24-hours in advance, and my stress just melted away.

“Every few months she would give him a shot to the ribs to just keep him in check; that’s called being thorough.”

Nancy is also superb when it comes to interacting with the public. Whether it’s the civic group chairperson who calls at 4:58 p.m. to alert Nancy about an event that’s happening at 5 p.m., or the person wishing to place a wedding announcement with a photo that makes the infamous photo of the Loch Ness monster look like an Olan Mills portrait, she knows how to navigate those waters.

I once witnessed a man with a tattoo of Mickey Gilley on his forehead give Nancy a recent photo and ask if she could airbrush the tattoo away. Wanting to give top notch customer service at all times, Nancy spent her entire lunch hour touching up the photo with a packet of Hellmann’s mayonnaise that had been in the Free Press break room since the Ford administration.

“I was able to conceal the Mickey Gilley tattoo, but the photo still looked odd. It was as if he’d come back from another dimension but bits of him were still stuck on the other side,” Saunders said as she opened a gift of No. 2 pencils and Kinston Centennial mouse pad at her going-away party on Monday.

Even though Nancy’s commitment to customer service is unparalleled, even she would occasionally get on someone’s bad side.

“I was going over the text for a family reunion announcement with a customer back in 2002, and I suggested we conjugate a few verbs to make the announcement more readable,” Saunders said. “The next thing I know, my boss receives an irate phone call from someone who’s upset that I offered to conjugate with them.”

Free Press Assistant Managing Editor Nancy Saunders has ridden off into the sunset.

As I type this on Monday, a meal is being planned at Free Press HQ to honor the many years of service Nancy Saunders has given The Free Press. Although a memo has been sent out to discourage it, many malnourished reporters have already started lining their pockets with Ziploc bags and aluminum foil.

Some have blamed past luncheon larcenies as a symptom of low pay, while others refer to it as a built-in anti-obesity safeguard — which actually counts as a health benefit with the new Obamacare law kicking into effect today.

Nancy has been with The Free Press since 1999; rumor has it she was the inspiration for Prince’s hit song “1999.” Lending credence to the rumor is the fact Nancy lived only three blocks away from Prince’s Paisley Park Studios during her stint as Minnesota Vikings cheerleader from 1980-82.

In an interview on the Free Press Radio Show in 2012, Saunders said the split with Prince stemmed from an argument over a blouse. Saunders also said the song “Raspberry Beret” was inspired by a jelly mishap during a visit to the Golden Corral breakfast buffet.

Although her job title at the Free Press is Assistant Managing Editor, Nancy deals with many issues well outside of her purview. Largely consumed with community events over the years, Nancy has also served as an unpaid counselor to Free Press staffers young and old.

“This job can be stressful but Nancy has a lot of practice talking people down from ledges,” said Free Press Chief Photographer Janet Carter. “A few months after I started here, I began to feel overwhelmed. Nancy took me out to lunch and I poured my heart out to her.”

Janet continued, “The next day, she went up to the reporter who kept forgetting to post his photo assignments in a timely manner and caught him with a left hook and two good rabbit punches. From that day forward, all photo assignments were posted at least 24-hours in advance, and my stress just melted away.

“Every few months she would give him a shot to the ribs to just keep him in check; that’s called being thorough.”

Nancy is also superb when it comes to interacting with the public. Whether it’s the civic group chairperson who calls at 4:58 p.m. to alert Nancy about an event that’s happening at 5 p.m., or the person wishing to place a wedding announcement with a photo that makes the infamous photo of the Loch Ness monster look like an Olan Mills portrait, she knows how to navigate those waters.

I once witnessed a man with a tattoo of Mickey Gilley on his forehead give Nancy a recent photo and ask if she could airbrush the tattoo away. Wanting to give top notch customer service at all times, Nancy spent her entire lunch hour touching up the photo with a packet of Hellmann’s mayonnaise that had been in the Free Press break room since the Ford administration.

“I was able to conceal the Mickey Gilley tattoo, but the photo still looked odd. It was as if he’d come back from another dimension but bits of him were still stuck on the other side,” Saunders said as she opened a gift of No. 2 pencils and Kinston Centennial mouse pad at her going-away party on Monday.

Even though Nancy’s commitment to customer service is unparalleled, even she would occasionally get on someone’s bad side.

“I was going over the text for a family reunion announcement with a customer back in 2002, and I suggested we conjugate a few verbs to make the announcement more readable,” Saunders said. “The next thing I know, my boss receives an irate phone call from someone who’s upset that I offered to conjugate with them.”

Saunders said after the angry customer was told what conjugate actually meant, it only made things worse.

Although Nancy is leaving The Free Press, she is not retiring. Plans to spend more time with her children and family abound, but she’s also beginning a new career.

“I’ll be playing the role of Dorothy in the touring version of ‘Summer of 42’ starting in October,” she said. “They’ve narrowed the role of Hermie down to either Shia LaBeouf or Jon Dawson.”

Jon Dawson’s columns appear every Tuesday and Thursday in The Free Press. Contact Jon at 252-559-1092 or jon.dawson@kinston.com. Purchase Jon’s book ‘Making Gravy In Public’ at jondawson.com.